THE drive to cut youth crime and anti-social behaviour in Richmond upon Thames is reaping success. Latest figures show that offences committed by young people living in the borough has dropped sharply - from 599 offences in 2001 to 426 last year.

Burglary, vehicle theft and robbery offences have remained low, and both robbery and vehicle theft have seen decreases since 2002.

There has also been a dramatic reduction in custody figures and in the number of custodial remands.

The position is revealed in this year's Youth Justice Plan, which details the achievements of Richmond's Youth Offending Team for 2003/04 and sets targets for the coming year.

The report starkly illustrates the nature of youth crime in Richmond upon Thames with approximately 50 per cent of thefts in the area committed by young people from outside the borough.

Richmond council leader and cabinet member for combating crime, Cllr Tony Arbour, said: "The work of the Youth Offending Team in combating youth crime is incredibly important - and is reaping dividends.

"Our aim is to make Richmond upon Thames the safest borough in London under our Civic Pride strategy and, indeed, compared to other places the number of people from the borough involved in crime is low.

"The team intends to keep up the momentum and has set a number of new targets for the coming year.

"These include involving 90 per cent of offenders in education, training and employment, reducing substance misuse-related crime by ten per cent and supporting the police in reducing anti-social behaviour."

l Police will be targeting anti-social vandals in a new campaign - see page 5